Hair retention device

ABSTRACT

A device for styling hair is disclosed. The device includes a wire threaded into a flexible hollow tube which is covered by flexible material. The ends of the hollow tube are either joined by a closure device into a circle or independently closed by separate closure devices to form a cylindrical device. The device can be used to form hairstyles with different lengths and textures of hair and can form multiple hairstyles.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority from U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 60/642,856, filed Jan. 11, 2005.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to hairstyling devices, namely devicesthat form ponytails, French twists, buns, flips and the like.

2. Description of Related Art

Medium and long hairstyles that hold the hair firmly are popular withpeople of all ages and hair textures and types, particularly with women.Because of this desire to have hair held secure and with adorningstyles, many devices have been invented. Examples include hair ties,combs, barrettes and ornamental hairpins.

Of the hairstyling devices/tools invented, there are not many that arecurrently known to have the diversity and flexibility to style mediumand long hair as well as multi-textured hair into various styles, suchas French twists, buns, flips, ponytails and other various styles.

The present invention provides a solution to the various needs ofmulti-textured hair of different lengths. There are many hair retainingdevices made of various materials that limit the degree of tension;therefore, they are not adjustable and cannot be used in the retentionof the various textures and lengths of hair. Struggling with and needingan accessory to hold hair resulted in the present invention. The needfor a device that allows control over the tension placed on hair wasclear. The present invention provides the exact flexibility needed forvarious degrees of tension.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,494 discloses a hair styling device for forming longhair into a bun or a French knot. The device is strap shaped with alongitudinal slit. In use, the device is deformed to force the slitopen. Hair is placed in the slit opening and the device is rotated totwist the hair around the device. The device is only functional to formbuns or French knots and is recommended for long hair only.

An object of the present invention is to provide a hair retention devicewhich works on medium or long hair of any texture.

An object of the present invention is to provide a hair retention devicewhich can be used to arrange hair in numerous styles.

An object of the present invention is to provide a hair retention devicewhich provides sufficient tension to retain hair of all lengths andtextures.

Finally, it is an object of the present invention to accomplish theforegoing objectives in a simple and cost effective manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses these needs by providing a hair stylingdevice formed from a flexible, hollow elongate body such as plastic orvinyl tubing. The elongate body can be bent around hair without breakingand without damaging the hair. A flexible elongate internal element isthreaded into the elongate body. The internal element can be bent into afixed position to maintain a desired hairstyle and can be unbent torelease the hairstyle. The internal element is can be made from a metalmaterial such as insulated copper wire. After threading the internalelement into the elongate body, the resulting combination is covered bya flexible covering such as fabric or synthetic hair. To cover thecombination with fabric, the fabric is sewn into a cylinder which isthen placed over the elongate body and the threaded internal elementcombination. In the preferred embodiment, the ends of the elongate bodyare then connected, preferably by an adhesive treated dowel, such thatthe ends remain connected throughout used of the device and such thatthe internal element remains within the elongate body. The fabric isthen secured, preferably by any appropriate method such as stitching oradhesive, such that the elongate body, internal element and dowel arecompletely covered. In an alternate embodiment, rather than connectingthe ends of the elongate body to each other, the ends of the elongatebody are separately closed, preferably using adhesive treated dowels.Again, the flexible covering is secured such that the elongate body,internal element and dowel are completely covered.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete description of the subject matter of the presentinvention and the advantages thereof, can be achieved by the referenceto the following detailed description by which reference is made to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of a hairretention device according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the preferred embodiment of a hair retentiondevice according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment of a hairretention device according to the present invention taken across lineIII-III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment of a hairretention device according to the present invention taken across lineIV-IV in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment of a hairretention device according to the present invention taken across lineV-V in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a top cross-sectional view of an alternate embodiment of ahair retention device;

FIG. 7 is a view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention inuse; and

FIG. 8 is a view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention inuse.

ELEMENT LIST

-   100 hair retention device-   101 flexible hollow elongate body-   102 flexible internal element-   103 dowel-   104 flexible covering-   106 seam

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The following detailed description is of the best presently contemplatedmode of carrying out the invention. This description is not to be takenin a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustratinggeneral principles of embodiments of the invention.

The present invention provides a device used in retaining hair intovarious positions while providing the proper degree of tension neededfor each individual hair texture and type. The said present inventionallows individuals to create hairstyles for themselves at variousdegrees of tension. The preferred embodiment of the present invention iscomprised of an outer covering of fabric of different textures andblends or synthetic hair of various shades and textures, hollow tubing,wire, a closure element and adhesive, all formed and sealed into apreferably circular embodiment. The materials used in the presentpreferred embodiment of said invention have many advantages. Thepreferred wire placed within the tubing provided the necessary tensionto retain hair and can be flexed again and again and returned back intoa circular shape without breaking. The hollow tubing allows pressure tobe applied to hair of different textures without causing breakagebecause there are no pinched pressure points on the hair. The outercovering placed over the hollow tubing and wire, either fabric orsynthetic hair, allows another level of protection. All the materialsused together provide a new level of flexibility, durability andprotection for hair, and particularly for multi-textured hair. Thematerials used in the present preferred embodiment allow the device tobe bent into a flat elongated shape. The elongated shape holds withenough tension so that hair can be placed in the middle of the elongatedshape and held in place while the elongated form of the preferredembodiment of the present invention is pulled down the length of thehair and rolled up or under the base of the hair, then each end of theelongated shape is bent in the opposite direction of the rolled hair tohold hair in place. Many styles can be created by pulling the presentinvention down a length of hair at different points and then rolling tothe base of the hair. The amounts of hair to be left out of the roll maybe styled in various forms (curled, straight, braided, etc.). Thepresent invention has been invented to provide people with differenthair lengths and textures a workable accessory/tool, so as to createdifferent styles while remaining durable and safe for multiple uses inthe hair.

The preferred embodiment of the hairstyling device of the presentinvention illustrated generally at 100 in FIGS. 1-5 includes a flexibleinternal element 102 which is cut to a desired length, preferably eleveninches, fifteen inches or seventeen inches. The flexible internalelement 102 is preferably a metal wire and more preferably, fourteengauge solid insulated copper wire. Other materials which are flexibleand which retain a desired orientation until forced to an alternateorientation could also be used as this internal element 102.

The flexible wire element 102 is placed through the center of a flexiblehollow elongate body 101, preferably made from flexible vinyl tubingwith an outer diameter of 0.25 inches and an inner diameter of 0.17inches. The hollow body 101 is made from a material which can flexwithout breaking and is preferably cut to a length approximately an inchlonger than the flexible wire element 102. The combination of the hollowbody 101 and the centrally located flexible wire element 102 gives thedevice 100 flexibility and stability so that the device 100 will holdits shape when bent or twisted.

The hollow body 101 and flexible wire element 102 combination is thencovered by a flexible covering 104, preferably a piece of fabric or realor synthetic hair, which is preferably twenty-three to twenty-eightinches long and approximately two and one quarter inches wide and formedinto a cylindrical shape. The flexible covering 104 can be any type offabric such as cotton, poly, poly-cotton blend or any satin material.Synthetic or real hair of different colors can be used in place offabric to give a more blended look with different hair colors andtextures. The flexible covering 104 preferably has a seam 106 on one endwhich is seen on the finished device 100. To form the cylindrical shape,flexible covering 104 is preferably sewn inside-out with a seam to forma piece of material which is two inches wide. The sewn flexible covering104 is then inverted so that the seam is hidden, thus forming acylindrical shape to cover the hollow body 101 and flexible wire element102 combination.

Following placement of the hollow body 101 and flexible wire element 102combination into the cylindrically shaped flexible covering 104, theends of the hollow body 101 are closed by a closure device 103.Preferably a small dowel 103, which closely approximates the internaldiameter of the hollow body 101, is treated with an adhesive. Each endof the hollow body 101 is forced onto an end of the dowel 103 and theadhesive acts to retain the ends of the hollow body 101 on the dowel103, thus enclosing the flexible wire element 102 entirely. Once theends of the hollow body 101 are in place on the ends of the dowel 103,the ends of the flexible covering 104 are attached so that the flexiblecovering 104 covers the hollow body 101 and flexible wire element 102combination completely. To accomplish the attachment, preferably, theend of the flexible covering 104 which was prepared with a finished seam106 is placed over the opposite end of the flexible covering 104 suchthat only the finished seam 106 end is visible and the ends overlap byapproximately one and one half inches. The ends of the flexible covering104 are then secured by any appropriate means such as a closing stitch,pin stitch or adhesive. The hollow body 101, in combination with theflexible wire element 102, make the device 100 effective for securinghair in many different styles while holding its shape and contour.

In an alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 6, rather than joining the twoends of the hollow body 101 with a single closure element 103, twoclosure elements 103 are used to close each end of the hollow body 101independently. This results in a device 100 which is a strip which canbe wrapped around hair rather than the circular shape of the preferredembodiment.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show the device 100 in use in two of the possiblehairstyles which can be created. Hair can be wrapped around the device100 as shown in FIG. 7 or the device 100 can be twisted around hair asshown in FIG. 8. Many other hairstyles are possible with the device.

Many improvements, modifications, and additions will be apparent to theskilled artisan without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent invention as described herein and defined in the followingclaims.

1. A hair styling device, comprising: a flexible, hollow elongate bodyhaving an inner diameter and a longitudinal axis; a flexible elongateinternal element having a longitudinal axis which has a diameter smallerthan the inner diameter of the elongate body and which is threaded intothe elongate body; a flexible covering which covers the elongate bodyand the internal element subsequent to threading the internal elementinto the elongate body.
 2. The hair styling device as set forth in claim1 wherein the elongate body is made from a material which is flexible,capable of returning to an original configuration and which will notcause damage to a user's hair.
 3. The hair styling device as set forthin claim 1 wherein the elongate body is made from vinyl tubing.
 4. Thehair styling device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the internal elementis made from a material which is flexible, which is capable of retaininga desired orientation such that a hair style is maintained and which iscapable of returning to an original configuration.
 5. The hair stylingdevice as set forth in claim 1 wherein the internal element is made froma metal.
 6. The hair styling device as set forth in claim 1 wherein theinternal element is made from insulated copper wire.
 7. The hair stylingdevice as set forth in claim 1 wherein the flexible material is selectedfrom the group consisting of fabric and synthetic hair.
 8. The hairstyling device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the flexible material isfabric which is formed into a cylinder into which the elongate body andthe threaded internal element are placed.
 9. The hair styling device asset forth in claim 1 further comprising the ends of the flexiblematerial being secured such that the elongate body and the threadedinternal element are entirely covered.
 10. The hair styling device asset forth in claim 9 wherein the ends of the flexible material aresecured by a means selected from the group consisting of stitches andadhesive.
 11. The hair styling device as set forth in claim 1 furthercomprising a connection means for connecting the ends of the elongatebody to each other.
 12. The hair styling device as set forth in claim 11wherein the connection means is a dowel which has an outer diametersmaller than the inner diameter of the elongate body and which is placedinto the ends of the elongate body such that the ends of the elongatebody are connected and the internal element is retained within theelongate body.
 13. The hair styling device as set forth in claim 12wherein an adhesive is applied to dowel prior to placing the dowel intothe ends of the elongate body.
 14. The hair styling device as set forthin claim 1 further comprising a closing means for closing the ends ofthe elongate body.
 15. The hair styling device as set forth in claim 14wherein the closing means is a pair of dowels which have an outerdiameter smaller than the inner diameter of the elongate body andwherein each dowel is placed into one end of the elongate body such thatthe ends of the elongate body are closed and the internal element isretained within the elongate body.
 16. The hair styling device as setforth in claim 15 wherein an adhesive is applied to dowels prior toplacing the dowels into the ends of the elongate body.